blake375
Well-known member
I hope you good folks can help me identify and date this Burny LP jr. I have read loads of forums about dating Burnys and couldn't find an answer. The guy who sold it to me was sure it was Japanese and thought it was 80s. I think it looks a bit younger than that and I'm not 100% sure it's Japanese (though I won't mind if it isn't - it wasn't expensive and I've been waiting a hell of a long time to score a decent DC JR for not much money). Whatever model it is, it certainly isn't top-end.
Headstock front
Headstock back
Fretboard
Neck joint
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Body
Pickguard
Pickup + cavity
Bridge
Control cavity
Jack socket
I have looked carefully, and other than the serial number there are no other markings on the guitar to denote model number of factory of origin. But there are plenty of clues here. Are hope someone with experience will be able to tell me something about this little axe.
Thanks in advance for any wisdom offered!
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Headstock front
- Being a junior model, you might expect the Burny logo to be a decal or be printed on, but it is a real mother of pearl inlay
No script logo
Two-screw trussrod cover, but unusual shape
Headstock back
- Kluson-style tuners, not marked, plastic buttons rather than metal as I have seen on some Burnys
Seven-digit serial number ? couldn?t find any info on Burny serials that matched this, but it would be correct for a 2003 Tokai
The serial isn't printed in white, it is stamped - at some point white paint (or something) has gotten in the indentations
Note little ?wings? of extra mahogany added to make up width ? not a sign of good quality
One-piece neck (in the sense that it is not scarf-jointed)
Fretboard
- Not the best rosewood, but quite nice and certainly a lot better than what you find on most new guitars today
Frets nicely finished
Markers are perloid rather than real mother of pearl, side dots are white ? same combination as on 80s/90s Tokai strat copies
Neck joint
- I?m no expert but I think it is very nicely done ? no gaps, flush with body and smoothly finished: I?ve seen plenty of photos of messier joins
It is smooth and neat on the back too
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Body
- Three-piece, not very well matched
Wood looks smooth and is lacking in pore-patterns, to the extent that I can?t be 100% sure it is mahogany (I?m sure about the neck though)
Pickguard
- Tort style, but not genuine tort ? tort pattern is printed on back of smokey grey transparent plastic
Pickup + cavity
- Pickup is stamped ?Gotoh pickups Japan?, model number (TV) on paper label ? this is one of the main things that makes me think the guitar is not that old: the pickup has a proper Gotoh logo rather than just being stamped in plain type like they were in the 80s
The cavity is painted with shielding paint ? again this makes me think the guitar is not that old, also I?ve read that shielding paint in pickup cavities is a characteristic of guitars made by Cor-Tek in Korea
Bridge
- Lightning-bar type, cast rather than milled, old-style design compensated for wound G string
?MADE IN JAPAN? on back
Control cavity
- Shielding paint here too
Full-size pots, inked ?MADE IN JAPAN?
Plastic-covered wire, small green cap
Jack socket
- Mounted on four-screw 2-ply plastic plate
I have looked carefully, and other than the serial number there are no other markings on the guitar to denote model number of factory of origin. But there are plenty of clues here. Are hope someone with experience will be able to tell me something about this little axe.
Thanks in advance for any wisdom offered!
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